A note from Karen:

The challenge is straightforward-simply make 1000 practice swings during the month of October to improve your swing technique and increase clubhead speed.  You don’t need to go to the driving range or golf course, you can simply make practice swings in your garage or living room at home a few minutes a day (just make sure that you don’t whack the ceiling or walls!)

If you don’t have enough room to swing a regular club, use a soccer ball or tennis racquet to simulate a golf club.

Break it Down-make 30 practice swings a day for 30 days and you will have made 900 swings over the course of a month.  Okay, so it is not exactly a 1000 swings, but close enough (if you really want to get technical, you’ll have to take 33.3333 swing per day to reach 1000 practice swings).  The amount is not the point, the point is to be consistent with your practice; take a few minutes out of your day to work on your golf swing and get some exercise.

Making practice swings will not only wake your muscles from a long winter, but the act of swinging over and over again can help you improve your swing technique and improve muscular endurance.

Stop at the top to check your backswing position.

Our practice swings are usually smoother, longer and more on-plane with better tempo than our real swings.  As you make practice swings, you can focus on making certain motions to improve technique such as making a fuller shoulder turn, keeping your spine angle throughout the swing and shifting your weight correctly.

As you make practice swings, you can swing faster than you usually do to help you get used to swinging faster to improve clubhead speed. As you make practice swings, you can work on certain moves in your swing without worrying where the ball is going.

Think about a few things while you are making your practice swings:

• Look down at where a ball would be and try to simulate hitting a ball as much as possible.  If possible, brush the ground where a ball would be.
• Work on your swing fundamentals.  Monitor your posture, alignment, ball position and grip to make sure they are correct.
• Keep your head level throughout your swing.
• Complete each practice swing by holding your finish for a moment as if you were watching your ball fly down the fairway.  Imagine the perfect golf shot as you swing.
• Finish in balance.
• Start each swing from the beginning , don’t swing back and forth continuously.  Make each swing as if you were hitting a real shot.

Daily Practice Routine:

Get used to swinging a little faster than you normally do to increase your clubhead speed.

Try this simple practice routine to improve swing technique and clubhead speed.

1. 10-practice swings in slow motion.  Work on perfecting your takeaway, top of backswing and impact position.  Stop at these key checkpoints to make sure the clubface is square and your body motion is correct.
2.  10-practice swings at regular speed.  Make each swing as if you were hitting a shot on the golf course.  Go through your pre-shot routine, then set up to an imaginary ball, then make your swing.  Finish in balance as you imagine the perfect golf shot.
3. 10-practice swings as fast as you can swing.  Make practice swings increasing the speed of each swing to help you get used to swinging faster.  If you finish out of balance, dial back the speed until you can increase the speed as you finish in balance.

Take the challenge with me.  Email me at KP.J@swingbladegolf.com or post a note  on my Facebook page letting me know that you are up for the challenge.  Feel free to post pictures of yourselves practicing.  I will post reminders and more tips this month to help you achieve your goal of 1000 practice swings this month.